Women Contesting the Mainstream Discourses of the Art World
Author: Penelope Josephine Collet
Publisher: Edwin Mellen Press
Published: 2004
Total Pages: 376
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKA neglected area of publishing in the visual arts is that of women's perceptions and strategies for sustaining their careers as artists. This book reports on research which investigated the formative life experiences of nine women and how they perceived their positions as students, artists, art teachers and family members in relation to the discourses dominant in their lives. The study aimed to identify new discursive practices undertaken by the women to contest their positioning. It used feminist poststructuralist methodology that acknowledged the notion of constitution and positioning of the subject in discourse. This innovative methodology is valuable for researchers in a range of disciplines not only in studying careers of women but also other marginalised groups. Because of the reliance on the women's voices, the text contributes rich pictures of women's lives and their attempts to negotiate their careers in workplaces they described as battle grounds. Consequently the text has a wider appeal to readers interested in women's careers and art practice. experiences of the women who were able to challenge and restructure constraining discourses. They utilised a range of strategies to negotiate obstacles and, based on the women's experiences and the literature, the author is then able to propose further possible strategies.